Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Wondercon

This coming weekend is packed.

Tomorrow night is TGSF's End of Month Social at the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Van Ness. It's been a while since I have been, so I hope to see some new faces.

Wondercon runs this Friday to Sunday, and I hope to drop by all three days to check it out. Saturday has most of the content, but, unfortunately, San Francisco Coronation is also that evening. So, I'll be heading out from Wondercon to enjoy an evening with the court system.

I was looking over the current Wondercon schedule, and I found a number of programs I want to catch, including:

The Birth of Gay Comix
— San Francisco was a birthplace for underground comics. It was also a birthplace for the queer comics movement with a pioneering indie comic called Gay Comix. Edited by Howard Cruse and San Francisco artist, Robert Triptow, Gay Comix was one of the first comics to present stories by and for the LGBT community. Robert Triptow and early gay comics creators Burton Clarke (Gay Comix), Vaughn Frick (Gay Comix), Jeff Krell (Jayson), Lee Marrs (Pudge, Girl Blimp), Trina Robbins (It Ain't Me Babe, Wimmen's Comix), and Mary Wings (Come Out Comix) take you on a fascinating trip back to the '80s and the beginnings of queer comic books. Moderated by Justin Hall (True Travel Tales, Glamazonia the Uncanny Super Tranny).

Comics Arts Conference Session #4: Comics, Culture, And Society — Diana Green (Minneapolis College of Art & Design) looks beyond the often-addressed "camp" aspects of EC stories, and delves into the way the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered subtexts and depiction of ambiguous gender in EC Comics played into the burgeoning, shifting acceptance of gay culture that began in the 1950s. Trevor Strunk (New York University) takes up the privileging of hybridity in the language, drawing style, and themes of Jaime Hernandez's graphic novel Locas, from Love and Rockets, specifically in the portrayal of the fictional town of Huerta. Kate McClancy (Duke University) asks whether the post-9/11 political climate forced a reimagining of V for Vendetta's portrayal of an anarchist in the film version of the graphic novel.

Queer Women in Comics — You think Alison Bechdel (Fun Home, Dykes to Watch Out For) is one of a kind? We know she's unique, but there are lots of other queer women working in comics. Paige Braddock (Jane's World), Greta Christina (Best Erotic Comics), Joey Alison Sayers (Thingpart), and Leia Weathington (Bold Riley) present a spirited discussion of what it means to be lesbian, bi-female and transgendered in comics today. Moderated by Patty Jeres, Prism Comics board co-president.


I have to admit, I haven't read too many comics in the past years, with the last one being the Dark Knight Strikes Again series...but before that, I'd probably have to go way back to the early 90's. They just got so expensive on a college budget, and they are quite addictive such that you have to read all of them to stay up on what is happening.

Wondercon is more than just comics, though. They have a ton of sessions, as mentioned above, and a lot of upcoming stuff, too, such as the new Watchman movie. Being a geek and sci-fi fan, I was also excited to see some of the actors listed as appearing this weekend. So, as you can imagine, I have a full list of things to do.

I guess the best part of it is just attending the show and feeling the mass excitement. Unfortunately, no Mulder or Scully this year.

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